


The Trouble With Stimuli

by Finely Honed (jaqen_hgar)



Series: Imagine Tony & Bucky [49]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bruce & Tony Take The Moon Landing Seriously, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Ceiling Vent Clint Barton, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Avengers, Hyperawareness, Lust, M/M, Peace in Chaos, Tony Smells Amazing, tony makes it better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-05
Updated: 2015-07-05
Packaged: 2018-04-07 20:04:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4276221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaqen_hgar/pseuds/Finely%20Honed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <span class="small">Prompt: Imagine since Winter Soldier was always memory-wiped, he never really knew what memories to trust, but HYDRA couldn't wipe specific sense-memories. Bucky always trusted how certain scents or sounds made him instinctively feel. Present-day he's recovering at the Tower but still connects with certain smells and sounds. And Tony...well he just smells so amazing, & he's got such an incredible singing voice, Bucky can't stay away.</span>
</p>
<p>Bucky stretched, then settled down into lotus again. Closed his eyes, trying to will all thought from his mind. He failed miserably of course, just like always, but Bruce assured him it was more about practice than anything. Stupidly, Bucky had thought he’d be good at this; before breaking the conditioning, he’d had an enviable single-minded focus. Turned out that once he was away from HYDRA and their memory wipes his mind was making up for lost time in the thoughts department.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Trouble With Stimuli

**Author's Note:**

> Combined with: Imagine Bucky can hear Tony singing in the shower through the vents and he really likes it.

Bucky stretched, then settled down into lotus again. Closed his eyes, trying to will all thought from his mind. He failed miserably of course, just like always, but Bruce assured him it was more about practice than anything. Stupidly, Bucky had thought he’d be good at this; before breaking the conditioning, he’d had an enviable single-minded focus. Turned out that once he was away from HYDRA and their memory wipes his mind was making up for lost time in the thoughts department.

It was like everything in his head had been kicked into overdrive. Attention span was an issue for him. Response to stimuli, as well. He’d freaked Steve out one day when he’d popped in to check on him only to find him gone; Bucky had grabbed a blanket and set up camp inside the closet of the room they’d provided him with. It was a bit easier in the dark, and the quiet, but still. He felt like he was being pulled in every direction.

Since Steve wanted Bucky to be able to move from the safe room to a proper one within the Tower, and The Powers That Be felt he wasn’t ready yet, he’d talked to Bruce, which had led to the whole meditation thing he’d been trying.

“S'no good. Everything’s just flooding in.” Bucky knew he sounded frustrated. “Can’t relax.”

Bruce made a soft, thoughtful noise. “Let’s try…”

But then the door opened, and they were no longer alone. “Bruce! I’ve been playing with Parker—not as dirty as it sounds, get your mind out of the gutter—and we accidentally built the hoverboard from  _Back to the Future_. I mean, it’s easily a thousand times better, but you need to… Oh. Hey. Wait, you’re still doing this? It’s been  _hours_.”

Bucky smiled. He’d only talked to Steve’s friend once or twice since coming to the Tower, but he got the feeling Stark might know a thing or two about handling distractions.

“Stark, you’re all over the place. How do you deal with it?”

Tony blinked, opened and closed his mouth, and Bucky belatedly realized that his question might have come out sounding sort of insulting. Only, Tony’s expression shifted, and Bucky had the sneaking suspicion that he’d misjudged. Tony might have a lot going on in his head, but he also had laser focus. He was using it now.

“Are you meditating  _on_  Bruce?”

“Uh?”

“Bruce, the cute one with the big brain and bigger hair?” Tony gestured to his friend. “Because otherwise, an empty room with nothing going on? Recipe for disaster. I’ve been in here two minutes and I’m stressed out. Come on, let’s blow this popsicle stand.”

“Tony,” Bruce said, but Bucky was already getting to his feet. “He’s been having trouble with stimuli…”

Tony sighed as if he’d been arguing for an hour, throwing his hands up. “Right, has your way been working? No. Let’s try my way.”

They were already out in the hallway, Bucky following behind, wondering where they were going. He hadn’t seen all of the Tower yet, being confined the way he was.

“Buckaroo, don’t think, just answer; name an object that feels at home in your hands.”

“A gun.”

Bucky felt his face flush with shame, but Tony didn’t bat an eye. “Anything specific? Pistol, rifle, bazooka?”

“A COP 357 Derringer,” he answered, chewing on his lower lip.

“J, do we have one of those hanging around anywhere?”

“I’m afraid not, sir. Shall I obtain one for you?”

“Yeah, on the double. Thanks, buddy. How about sounds or smells or anything like that? Fabrics? Combinations therein? Something that feels familiar or safe. Both of those at the same time would be ideal, but I’ll settle for familiar.”

Bucky wasn’t entirely sure what Tony was asking, but his mouth had other ideas, because it opened and he said, “Leather.”

Tony whirled on his heels and waggled his eyebrows in a suggestive way. Bucky wasn’t sure what was so weird about leather, but whatever.

“That we have. Okay. JARVIS?”

“A uniform will be waiting for you sir.”

Which was why, almost two hours later, when Steve burst into Tony’s workshop he found Bucky wearing a leather uniform, absently twirling a Derringer in one hand and knife in another, bopping his head along with the heavy rock music blasting around him. Tony was there too, showing him the hoverboard that’d come off the production line while they were hanging out.

“Tony!”

Bucky beamed at Steve, because this? This was the most relaxed he’d been since coming in from the cold. Apparently too much stimuli wasn’t his problem; it just hadn’t been enough.

The scent of the leather had been familiar, had left him feeling like he had his bearings. Which was odd, really, since he’d expected anything relating to the Winter Soldier to make him uncomfortable. Apparently not. So, he’d felt more at ease from the feeling and the scent of the leather, and then Tony had begun throwing stimulation at him, talking about how the chaos helped him focus.

It hadn’t made any sense, but it had worked. He’d been able to just focus on Tony, and everything else fell away, became white noise not worthy of his attention. His thoughts fell into line, allowing him to concentrate again.

Amidst the madness of half assembled wonders, and holographic projections, loud music, and Tony carrying on, Bucky had smiled, and felt almost like he could actually sleep here if he tried. It was  _blissful_.

Then someone had shown up with a delivery, and it had only gotten better. JARVIS had also included a holster, which was nice, and the feeling of it strapped around his thigh was oddly comforting.

“That’s loaded by the way, because I’m assuming it’d be distracting if it wasn’t,” Tony had mentioned.

“Thanks.” Bucky had nodded while examining the gun. “I knew. I can always tell how many rounds are left by the weight.”

“For reasons I refuse to examine at this time, gotta say that’s kinda hot.”

Bucky had grinned. “Knives are good too. Maybe next time I can have a blade?”

“You can have a knife now, if you want.”

The odd euphoria that came with relief was probably to blame, but once he’d started running his mouth to Tony, he couldn’t stop. He’d confessed about not being able to sleep in the room they were keeping him in. That he spent most of the day feeling hyper aware and like his skin was crawling. Once opened, the mouth just didn’t shut.

“They used to wipe me, and I had no idea what to trust. Over the years I guess I just started—I dunno—I’d get a feeling for something? Sounds and smells specifically. There were people I just knew I couldn’t trust, or places that felt safe.”

“Their brainwashing was pretty barbaric, and a lot of the time they were throwing stuff at the wall to see what would stick. The part of the brain that stores scents and sounds is jammed up near emotional storage. I’ll send you some fun reading material. After I started having anxiety attacks I did some research. Needed to avoid, ah, an emotional response to certain situations. Fascinating stuff. Works both ways, too.”

Bucky had smiled, and maybe he’d shifted a little closer. Then a lot closer. He liked Tony’s size. He wasn’t nearly as small as Steve had been, but it still looked like he’d be able to comfortably rest his arm around Tony’s shoulders with ease. When he gave it a go, Tony had looked at him for a beat, but then continued explaining the stealth capabilities he wanted to work into the armor. The only distraction he’d faced after that was dealing with how amazing Tony smelled. Like, inexplicably good.

Everything had been hunky dory, but as soon as Steve burst and shouted Tony’s name, Bucky tensed up, worried he’d done something wrong. His first impulse was to scoot closer to Tony, tucking the knife into his sleeve and the Derringer into his holster at the same time.

“Hey, Stevie.”

“JARVIS, can you turn the music off?”

Bucky flinched as the music abruptly ended and silence washed in to take its place. Almost immediately, his heart began to race, and in an attempt to comfort himself he draped his arm around Tony’s shoulders again, took a deep breath until the combined scent of his skin and cologne and shampoo filled Bucky’s nostrils, a welcome distraction from the silence.

If Tony had a problem with the physical contact, he didn’t show it. “What’s up, boss?”

“He’s supposed to be meditating,” Steve sighed, and Bucky tightened his grip. Only, Steve seemed more confused than angry. “You do realize we’re trying to get him  _out_ of lock down?”

“So just take him out,” Tony suggested with a snort. “Who the hell decided he should be in solitary, anyway?”

“Tony,” Steve groaned, gesturing to the holster and the leather. His eyes kept darting, looking from Bucky to Tony. “You armed him?”

“Please, if he actually wanted to hurt us, or break out of your little padded room, he could do it in a heartbeat.” Which was true, actually. “Check out the hoverboard!”

Bucky tried not to groan pitifully as Tony hopped on the hoverboard to skate-hover over to Steve. Without thinking, he reached for his Derringer to comfort himself. Just because Tony smelled amazing and made him feel all zen didn’t mean it was Tony’s job to stay within smelling distance.

Steve and Tony did their Steve and Tony thing, while Bucky plopped himself down on the couch, and let their bickering wash over him, until his thoughts fell away, and he was left in tranquility. His eyelids drooped, and then…

+

He opened his eyes, momentarily confused. It was bright, and noisy, and there was a light show going on around him apparently. Not in his room, then. The tension melted away, especially as he realized he was no longer alone on the couch.

Contentedly, Bucky wound his arm around Tony’s middle, and pulled him in close, closer, dragging his nose back and forth through the messy brown hair in front of him, then breathing in deeply.

“Mm,” Tony grunted, smacking his hand against Bucky’s companionably. Surprisingly, he didn’t seem in a rush to go anywhere.

“How long was I out?”

“Six hours, Sergeant Barnes,” JARVIS answered softly, while Tony grunted again. “Once Captain Rogers saw you sleeping, he agreed to allow you to stay on the condition you were not left unsupervised.”

Bucky closed his eyes, and smiled against the back of Tony’s head. “Guessing he was tired?”

“Mr. Stark  _had_ already been suffering from sleep deprivation at the time he brought you back to the workshop,” JARVIS answered quietly.

Well, if Bucky was looking for an excuse to stay put, he’d found it. He settled down, letting his eyes close again, noticing JARVIS lowered the lights in response. The music continued to play, as did the holographic visualisation that accompanied it, and Bucky relaxed.

+

Someone must have pulled some strings, because suddenly Bucky was out of his sterile environment, and had been given a room next to Steve’s own. He didn’t spend much time there, though. He preferred being somewhere near Tony.

+

Clint loved the vents. Bucky, on a lark, took a tour of them one afternoon, Clint pointing out where everything was. They figured if Steve or someone complained, they could claim the knowledge was important in case of infiltration.

This was how Bucky discovered that Tony sung in the shower.

Clint had been ready to move on, then had to backtrack when he realized Bucky was frozen in the same spot, his eyes closed, covered in gooseflesh, because wow. Wow. “His voice…”

“Please,[ I sing  _way_  better than he does](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ27iS1mkuo),” Clint groused, but he allowed Bucky to indulge himself a little longer before they continued on their way.

Bucky would be a lying liar if he claimed he didn’t regularly sneak up into the vents to listen to Tony singing.

+

Whenever possible, Bucky gravitated toward Tony. The closer the better, as far as he was concerned. It wasn’t just how amazing he smelled, or the sound of his voice, or hearing him sing, it was also his laugh, and the way he looked at the world, and also his ass was just distractingly firm and perky, and…

Well. There was no denying that he had a serious attraction to Tony Stark.

Tony didn’t seem to mind. Sometimes, he even sought Bucky out on his own, although he did act a little nervous when Steve was around. Once or twice he’d tried to escape Bucky’s hold on him while they were watching a movie together, only to give up when Steve just plopped down beside them and acted like everything was totally normal.

Tolerating Bucky’s attention and obvious infatuation was one thing. Reciprocating was another. Clint swore that Tony was interested in him, but Clint also swore they’d faked the moon landing. Although, he might have said that just so Bucky would go ask Bruce and Tony about it. Turns out they had a lot of feelings about the moon landing. Like  _five hours_ worth of feelings, complete with visual aids.

+

Bucky walked into the workshop one day a few weeks after being let out of lockdown, and found everything quiet, and dark, a very serious looking Tony Stark sitting there waiting for him.

Not that long ago, the lack of stimuli would have left him in a panic, but he’d been steadily working on it. Still, there was something eerie about the whole scene.

“Everything okay?”

“Dunno. You tell me.”

Bucky began drumming his fingers against his thigh nervously. Tony sounded so serious. A terrible thought occurred to him, and he actually staggered. “Did I do something horrible?” he asked, feeling sick. “Is everyone okay?”

Almost immediately, Tony looked horrified. He hopped to his feet and had crossed the room in a heartbeat, taking Bucky by the shoulders. “Shit, no, everyone’s fine, you didn’t… I mean…  _Shit_.” He hung his head, took a deep breath, then looked up again. “Is everything okay between you and Steve?”

Now Bucky was really confused. “Why wouldn’t it be? Is he mad at me? What…”

“Stop, okay stop!” Tony held his hands up, then pressed his palms together before covering his mouth with his hands and taking another deep breath. “You and Steve, and your great love that defies the ages,” he explained slowly. “Can’t help but notice that, um. You know. You’ve been spending a lot of time with  _me_ instead, and I just…”

“Wait, love that defies the ages?” Bucky interrupted, feeling his face scrunch up in confusion. Tony was wearing a sort of shell shocked expression, and understanding washed over Bucky. “We’re not a couple. Did you think we were a couple?”

Tony blinked several times before answering hesitantly. “Yes?”

Bucky grinned, chuckled, then just burst out laughing. “Don’t get me wrong, I love that guy more than anyone on the planet—I’d cut off my other arm with a dull blade if he needed me to—but it’s strictly platonic between us.”

Tony opened his mouth, then shut it, head cocked to the side. “So… The, ah. Touching me. And sniffing. Um, and cuddling. Is that also platonic?”

“Depends.” Bucky shuffled nervously. “Does it have to stop if I admit it  _isn’t_?”

As he watched, Tony’s eyes narrowed, and his pretty mouth curled into a wicked little smile. “Nope, definitely not. Although, if it isn’t platonic, we should maybe, ah, work some other stuff in the mix. If you’re into the idea, that is.”

“Like kissing?” Bucky asked hopefully.

“Yeah, for a…”

Bucky interrupted him with a kiss. Then another. Then kept right on kissing him. They could figure the rest out, later. For now, he was going to enjoy the way the entire world, and every last one of his distracting, unwanted thoughts faded into nothingness, until there was only Tony.


End file.
